As the semester winds down, I’m going to do a few posts on the totally badass but much forgotten-about local music scene. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, consider how poorly attended the sure-to-be-badass Juan Huevos  show on Wednesday will be, competing with the craziness of last-day-of-classes parties.)

Today’s post: SNMNMNM.

First things first: since I am reviewing them, I have to make a joke about their name. As far as I know, there has never been a review that has not done this, and I am not one to break with tradition.

As it turns out, the name is not, in fact, an acronym for a person with low self-esteem’s idea of bondage sex – three parts masochism to one part sadism – but merely an amalgamation of the names of the band members (Seamus ’n Mark ’n Matt ’n Matt).

Now, for those of you who’ve never heard of SNMNMNM, they sound like They Might Be Giants with a tuba and an accordion. Their lyrics are obscure and clever, their songs are simple and poppy, and their singer’s voice is just as annoying.

Their new CD is no departure from any of this. Themes they tackle on the new release include: the difficulty of waking up in the morning (“Lost a Day”), the feeling you get when you see an ex-girlfriend after having consumed one too many beers (“Wasted and Trying”), and the value of a good librarian (“Addy will Know”).

Check them out if you are looking for a good crop of quirky concept songs. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear them on This American Life one day.